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Looking back on St. Paul's Ford plant

The St. Paul Ford plant has a long and rich history. Recent attempts to keep the sprawling plant from closing next year have failed.

State and city officials asked Ford to reconsider the decision to close down the plant for good, offering various incentives to keep the facility and its jobs in St. Paul. Ford declined the offers.

Morning Edition's Cathy Wurzer talked with history professor Annette Atkins about the plant and its place in St. Paul history. Atkins teaches history at St. John's University and the College of St. Benedict in central Minnesota.

Gallery

The St. Paul Ford plant circa 1928.Courtesy Minnesota Historical SocietyView full galleryThe first car manufactured at the new Twin Cities Ford Plant, St. Paul.Courtesy Minnesota Historical SocietyA tunnel under the St. Paul Ford plant in a 1938 photograph.Courtesy Minnesota Historical SocietyLoading Ford cars from the Ford plant onto river barges for shipment down river in a 1925 photograph.Courtesy Minnesota Historical SocietyTunnels underneath the St. Paul Ford plant in a 1937 photograph.Courtesy Minnesota Historical SocietyThe Ford Assembly plant, in St. Paul, is slated for closure but officials hope good sales of the Ranger pickup truck, which is made at the plant, will help get the plant a reprieve.MPR photo/Tom Weber